Audi plans to work with its dealers to improve leasing rates in 2023 as inventory levels start to rebound after years of supply chain disruptions.
The brand told dealers its leasing rates have plummeted by roughly half since 2019, according to Brett Morgan, CEO of Morgan Automotive Group in Tampa, Fla., which includes one Audi store. He said the Audi make meeting Friday focused heavily on the desire to boost leasing and increase certified pre-owned sales.
“It was a pretty positive meeting,” Morgan said.
Michelle Primm, dealer principal at Audi Cuyahoga Falls near Cleveland, also said leasing and CPO sales were big topics. She noted that the brand is more open to working together with its retail network than in the past.
The collaboration between Audi and the dealer body has never been stronger,” Primm said. “Traditionally an OEM would identify a problem, come up with a solution and then tell the dealers what they’re going to do. That’s not how it’s working now.”
She credits the Audi dealer council and its chairman, Don Flow, for the improved relations.
Flow has made a priority of resetting factory-dealer relations, telling Automotive News in an earlier interview there’s been a “remarkable change” in the relationship.
In addition to improving leasing and CPO sales, Primm said Audi and its dealers plan to improve their CPO operations and keep inventory from rising too much.
“It’s better for everybody if we stay around that 30-40 day inventory level,” Primm said.
Overall, brand executives said dealer profitability was stable last year compared to 2021 and that this year they expect fewer production constraints and more inventory.
“We’re confident and optimistic about our business,” Audi of America President Daniel Weissland, said in a statement to Automotive News. “Audi of America closed the year strong in 2022 – third and fourth quarter sales were up, BEV sales were best ever, and after sales had a record-breaking year – which has positioned us and our dealers for success in 2023.”